OG has been a defensive demon these playoffs.

[cupcakesnake]

He has been doing this for years. People just don't pay attention to the Raptors so he never got any notice.

Siakam, OG, Van Vleet and Norm Powell were all on the Raptors championship team that is vastly underrated lol. That was an absolutely elite team.

It's hilarious seeing NBA fans going "these guys came out of nowhere" when they'd been doing the exact same thing on the Raptors for years.

What is with all the Raps fans in this thread coming in like "we knew OG before he was trendy!"

OG has long been known by the wider NBA fanbase for his defense. Nowhere in this topic does anyone say anything about this being a new thing. It's about what he's doing now.

If you want to hipster me with your OG fandom, I've been on his bandwagon since he played at Indiana. I had him top 5 on my draft board. I stopped following the Raptors after the OG trade. Y'all wanted to pay Ingram, RJ, Quickley, and Scottie instead. What about scarves?

[Clyde Frazier]

Best 3&D guy in the league

FWIW he really stepped up as a scorer in Brunson's absence this season: In the 15 game stretch Knicks went 9-5 and he put up 23.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.7 APG, 2.1 SPG, .9 BPG on 47/39/87 splits (60.8% TS).

[Pacernation]

He allways was a great defender. Wished the Pacers would've traded for him but here we are. There aren't many guys his size and strenght combined with footspeed and quick hands. His only problem is his durability. Hope he can stay healthy for this run.

[cupcakesnake]

Best 3&D guy in the league

FWIW he really stepped up as a scorer in Brunson's absence this season: In the 15 game stretch Knicks went 9-5 and he put up 23.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.7 APG, 2.1 SPG, .9 BPG on 47/39/97 splits.

I've ever heard rumor he's stopped randomly falling down on his drives. This will blow Raps fans minds.

OG was designed in a lab to attack corner close outs. He's extremely consistent on that shot, and if you want to help off him then close out, he's simply a monster run and jump athlete. It's giving a runway to the hoop for a 6'8" 245lbs. freight train.

[cgf]

He’s always been awesome defensively. What impresses me more is these random 30+ point games where he goes off. I always thought he was an elite role player but when he’s at that superstar two way tier in games the Knicks are incredibly difficult to beat.

He has a pretty big variance in his game, which is something that can be a problem at times. But when he’s at his absolute best, I think he is the closest thing right now to peak Kawhi Leonard as a two way wing

He still has no midrange game and we spread the non-Brunson scoring around from game to game, but OG’s been so much better at attacking the rim in recent months than I ever thought he could be.

He started getting as low as he does defensively and it’s helped his drives a ton, even if he still doesn’t go left well. But he & Mikal have really stepped up offensively since Brunson hurt his ankle.

[Jcity08]

He has been doing this for years. People just don't pay attention to the Raptors so he never got any notice.

Siakam, OG, Van Vleet and Norm Powell were all on the Raptors championship team that is vastly underrated lol. That was an absolutely elite team.

Raptors players only get their due from casuals & media personalities when they play elsewhere, its always been that way. On the flip side casual Raps fans tend to over hype all the players, so theres that too.

OG is in the perfect role in New York, where he wanted a larger role in Toronto but on the Knicks you got a no nonsense HC and real good starting cast that he naturally has to fall into his most favourable role on Offense & Defense.

[tsherkin]

The Celtics are shooting 17% against OG Anunoby so far in these playoffs.

According to the Ringer's Kirk Goldsberry the Celtics have shot 5-29 against OG in games 1 and 2.
Tatum is 2-8, Brown is 1-5, White is 0-6, everyone else is 2-10. That's crazy. 2 games and only letting 5 shots go in.
He's also averaging 2.5 steals per game these playoffs, and 1.1 blocks. Thanks to Thibs he's leading the playoffs in mpg.

This is coming after a series where Detroit's entire offense was simply: get Cade to attack anyone who isn't OG Anunoby.

I wanted to give Ogugua Anunoby Jr. a shout out because despite this being his healthiest season in years, OG got very little buzz for DPOY and all-defense as New York spent the regular season trying to figure out how to patch the defensives holes that are Brunson and KAT. OG was the hole patcher all season long, and got very little credit for that outside New York. Guys who make bad defenses into average ones get way less credit that guys who participate on great defensive teams.

It's also been his best scoring and driving season.

I suspect most of us figured this would happen as soon as we traded him, lol.

[Profound23]

This is why when the OG was on Toronto I was hoping Milwaukee would trade for him while keeping Jrue.

Imagine a backcourt of OG/Jrue with Giannis.

[wegotthabeet]

He has been doing this for years. People just don't pay attention to the Raptors so he never got any notice.

Siakam, OG, Van Vleet and Norm Powell were all on the Raptors championship team that is vastly underrated lol. That was an absolutely elite team.

All we heard all those years was how we overrated him as a fanbase. The narrative did a 180 the day after we had to move him. Typically RealGM.

[wegotthabeet]

He has been doing this for years. People just don't pay attention to the Raptors so he never got any notice.

Siakam, OG, Van Vleet and Norm Powell were all on the Raptors championship team that is vastly underrated lol. That was an absolutely elite team.

It's hilarious seeing NBA fans going "these guys came out of nowhere" when they'd been doing the exact same thing on the Raptors for years.

What is with all the Raps fans in this thread coming in like "we knew OG before he was trendy!"

OG has long been known by the wider NBA fanbase for his defense. Nowhere in this topic does anyone say anything about this being a new thing. It's about what he's doing now.

If you want to hipster me with your OG fandom, I've been on his bandwagon since he played at Indiana. I had him top 5 on my draft board. I stopped following the Raptors after the OG trade. Y'all wanted to pay Ingram, RJ, Quickley, and Scottie instead. What about scarves?

You really don't understand that he wanted to go to the Knicks and the Raptors accommodated his request? Could have traded him anywhere. Same with Pascal. He wanted Indiana and they sent him where he wanted to go. It's a classy organization, who does right by their players.

Same **** is happening right now with Scottie Barnes. He's become so underrated on this board it's crazy, but don't worry the moment he's moved the narrative will magically flip.

[NoStatsGuy]

It's hilarious seeing NBA fans going "these guys came out of nowhere" when they'd been doing the exact same thing on the Raptors for years.

What is with all the Raps fans in this thread coming in like "we knew OG before he was trendy!"

OG has long been known by the wider NBA fanbase for his defense. Nowhere in this topic does anyone say anything about this being a new thing. It's about what he's doing now.

If you want to hipster me with your OG fandom, I've been on his bandwagon since he played at Indiana. I had him top 5 on my draft board. I stopped following the Raptors after the OG trade. Y'all wanted to pay Ingram, RJ, Quickley, and Scottie instead. What about scarves?

You really don't understand that he wanted to go to the Knicks and the Raptors accommodated his request? Could have traded him anywhere. Same with Pascal. He wanted Indiana and they sent him where he wanted to go. It's a classy organization, who does right by their players.

Same **** is happening right now with Scottie Barnes. He's become so underrated on this board it's crazy, but don't worry the moment he's moved the narrative will magically flip.

to be honest.. and i have just said it a couple days ago in one of these threads.. my peception of the narrative is different. i have literally said "its funny how everybody was so high on OG before we got him, and now noone recognizes him anymore as one of the best defenders in the league". not word for word, im parapharsing.

maybe it was because we got him with the elbow issue and then he got hurt again in the playoffs. i dont know why people have forgotten. its all about the tompson twins, OKC, etc. but most of us knew he was a beast, when he was with the raptors.

[tsherkin]

Same **** is happening right now with Scottie Barnes. He's become so underrated on this board it's crazy,

Que?

Why is he to be considered underrated? He had the absolute worst TS% of any player in the league averaging 19+ ppg this past year, 61st out of 61. He's a good defender, a good rebounder for a SF, he's a solid playmaker, but he's an atrocious scorer. He's rated right about where he ought to be based on his actual impact.

[cupcakesnake]

The Celtics are shooting 17% against OG Anunoby so far in these playoffs.

According to the Ringer's Kirk Goldsberry the Celtics have shot 5-29 against OG in games 1 and 2.
Tatum is 2-8, Brown is 1-5, White is 0-6, everyone else is 2-10. That's crazy. 2 games and only letting 5 shots go in.
He's also averaging 2.5 steals per game these playoffs, and 1.1 blocks. Thanks to Thibs he's leading the playoffs in mpg.

This is coming after a series where Detroit's entire offense was simply: get Cade to attack anyone who isn't OG Anunoby.

I wanted to give Ogugua Anunoby Jr. a shout out because despite this being his healthiest season in years, OG got very little buzz for DPOY and all-defense as New York spent the regular season trying to figure out how to patch the defensives holes that are Brunson and KAT. OG was the hole patcher all season long, and got very little credit for that outside New York. Guys who make bad defenses into average ones get way less credit that guys who participate on great defensive teams.

It's also been his best scoring and driving season.

I suspect most of us figured this would happen as soon as we traded him, lol.

He was pretty excellent in his last full season in Toronto.
When the front office mandated "project 6'9" and decided the team didn't need traditional rim protection (or good shooters, or good ball handlers, or a primary source of rim protection...), a lot fell on OG to make things work. I really liked how OG would play on the back line while picking off skip passes. They played like a borderline top 5 defense with him on the floor, and that's without anything approaching a traditional center. That team ended up having bad vibes, but I was really into that defensive scheme and particularly OG's unique role in it. They replaced rim protection with turnover forcing, and made it basically impossible to throw cross court passes against their overload. A lot of things on that team almost worked, but didn't quite work and everyone hated it.

[tsherkin]

He was pretty excellent in his last full season in Toronto.

He was generally quite good for us whenever he was healthy, yes. He's a marvelous defender.

His issue was one of durability, and inability to handle a larger load of self-creation to prop up scoring volume. We've lacked a legitimate primary scoring option since Kawhi left, and haven't found anyone who's really worth it as a primary dribble penetrator. It's the age-old dilemma, heh.

[cupcakesnake]

What is with all the Raps fans in this thread coming in like "we knew OG before he was trendy!"

OG has long been known by the wider NBA fanbase for his defense. Nowhere in this topic does anyone say anything about this being a new thing. It's about what he's doing now.

If you want to hipster me with your OG fandom, I've been on his bandwagon since he played at Indiana. I had him top 5 on my draft board. I stopped following the Raptors after the OG trade. Y'all wanted to pay Ingram, RJ, Quickley, and Scottie instead. What about scarves?

You really don't understand that he wanted to go to the Knicks and the Raptors accommodated his request? Could have traded him anywhere. Same with Pascal. He wanted Indiana and they sent him where he wanted to go. It's a classy organization, who does right by their players.

Same **** is happening right now with Scottie Barnes. He's become so underrated on this board it's crazy, but don't worry the moment he's moved the narrative will magically flip.

to be honest.. and i have just said it a couple days ago in one of these threads.. my peception of the narrative is different. i have literally said "its funny how everybody was so high on OG before we got him, and now noone recognizes him anymore as one of the best defenders in the league". not word for word, im parapharsing.

maybe it was because we got him with the elbow issue and then he got hurt again in the playoffs. i dont know why people have forgotten. its all about the tompson twins, OKC, etc. but most of us knew he was a beast, when he was with the raptors.

On the defense thread this year, I feel I was the only one who even brought him up.

To me he was still easily in the upper upper tier of wing/forward defenders this year:

Amen
J.Dub
Camara
OG
McDaniels
Ausar

Some new young guys, and Camara kind of came out of nowhere. Herb is the other guy that's usually always at the top of this discussion, but he was hurt this year. Tatum, Dillon Brooks, DFS, Eason, Aaron Gordon are the guys in the next tier.

[Raps in 4]

What is with all the Raps fans in this thread coming in like "we knew OG before he was trendy!"

OG has long been known by the wider NBA fanbase for his defense. Nowhere in this topic does anyone say anything about this being a new thing. It's about what he's doing now.

If you want to hipster me with your OG fandom, I've been on his bandwagon since he played at Indiana. I had him top 5 on my draft board. I stopped following the Raptors after the OG trade. Y'all wanted to pay Ingram, RJ, Quickley, and Scottie instead. What about scarves?

You really don't understand that he wanted to go to the Knicks and the Raptors accommodated his request? Could have traded him anywhere. Same with Pascal. He wanted Indiana and they sent him where he wanted to go. It's a classy organization, who does right by their players.

Same **** is happening right now with Scottie Barnes. He's become so underrated on this board it's crazy, but don't worry the moment he's moved the narrative will magically flip.

to be honest.. and i have just said it a couple days ago in one of these threads.. my peception of the narrative is different. i have literally said "its funny how everybody was so high on OG before we got him, and now noone recognizes him anymore as one of the best defenders in the league". not word for word, im parapharsing.

maybe it was because we got him with the elbow issue and then he got hurt again in the playoffs. i dont know why people have forgotten. its all about the tompson twins, OKC, etc. but most of us knew he was a beast, when he was with the raptors.

That's true too. There was some media hoopla immediately after the trade, but nobody talked about him again until these playoffs.

[zimpy27]

How did Kawhi go from where OG is now to being an absolute monster?

Does OG have a chance?

[tsherkin]

How did Kawhi go from where OG is now to being an absolute monster?

Does OG have a chance?

No.

Kawhi was showing signs of off-ball movement and mid-range shooting AGES earlier in his career. Anunoby is 27 and not meaningfully better than he was 3 years ago. He is also hot garbage between the RA and the 3pt line.

They are nothing alike in terms of skill set or offensive potential.

[OkcSinceSGA]

He’s always been awesome defensively. What impresses me more is these random 30+ point games where he goes off. I always thought he was an elite role player but when he’s at that superstar two way tier in games the Knicks are incredibly difficult to beat.

He has a pretty big variance in his game, which is something that can be a problem at times. But when he’s at his absolute best, I think he is the closest thing right now to peak Kawhi Leonard as a two way wing

He still has no midrange game and we spread the non-Brunson scoring around from game to game, but OG’s been so much better at attacking the rim in recent months than I ever thought he could be.

He started getting as low as he does defensively and it’s helped his drives a ton, even if he still doesn’t go left well. But he & Mikal have really stepped up offensively since Brunson hurt his ankle.

If more hot Asian gymnasts like Sunisa Lee go to Knicks games maybe he will drop 35+ more often?

[OkcSinceSGA]

How did Kawhi go from where OG is now to being an absolute monster?

Does OG have a chance?

No.

Kawhi was showing signs of off-ball movement and mid-range shooting AGES earlier in his career. Anunoby is 27 and not meaningfully better than he was 3 years ago. He is also hot garbage between the RA and the 3pt line.

They are nothing alike in terms of skill set or offensive potential.

My Kawhi post is more that when he's having his peak best games he has true two way dominance from the wing only really seen in Kawhi this era. There just aren't any great 2 way wings left right now really for the most part. SGA and Edwards are guards for example.. just not many big, strong two way wings. Hunter is looking good but he's just a lower tier role player.